Whether you’re a dog groomer, a personal stylist, or the head of a law firm in D.C., your business is just as reliant upon building consumer trust and staying top-of-mind as any individual thought leader. With today’s oversaturated, ultracompetitive marketplace, building strong business-to-consumer (B2C) relationships has become more about personal branding than anything else.

Gone are the days when business owners could take cover behind a big corporate brand: Today’s consumers want to see the personal side of the businesses they support. In order to remain relevant, it’s important for business owners to not only invest in their company’s public presence, but in their own personal branding as well.

Where should business professionals get started with their personal branding journey? And what strategies can be used to build a personal brand that attracts higher-paying clients? Discover the answer to these questions and more by reading the five tips below!

5 Ways to Strengthen Your Personal Brand

Create an Audience Persona

Before you get started building your personal brand, you need to first know who your audience will be. This will dictate how you craft your messaging so you can develop hyper-personalized marketing materials that let the consumer feel as though you’re speaking directly to them. In order to make the biggest impact, you need to know your consumers as well as you know yourself — if not, better.

Your target audience might not be someone you know personally, which can make it challenging when creating your messaging. One way you can overcome this obstacle is by building out a complete audience persona. When envisioning your audience, consider the following:

• How old are they?
• Where do they live?
• What’s their job title?
• Are they married? Have kids?
• Did they vote red or blue in the last election?
• What’s their salary range?

Remember that your audience persona will ultimately become the people you engage with day to day. The more granular you’re willing to get, the better able you’ll be to speak to them on a level that resonates and leaves a lasting impression.

Use Enticing Messaging

When creating your audience persona, one of the overarching questions you should ask yourself is what problem you can help them solve. What is the one thing their life currently lacks that only you can provide? How can you communicate that in the most straightforward and irresistible language possible? The more you’re able to include the unique differentiators that matter most to your audience in your messaging, the more easily you’ll position yourself as the preferred solution provider.

Develop a Brand Personality

Just as a Hollywood screenwriter develops characters for the next big movie, business owners should take the same approach to developing their brand “personality.” Think about yourself in terms of a character on a page: What are the major themes you see in all aspects of your life? As with any successful brand, consistency is the key. Being able to identify the running themes and strong-held values in your personal life will help you develop a more authentic, memorable brand character.

Of course, it’s not enough for you to simply identify as this brand character. You need to illustrate to consumers that you don’t just talk the talk, you walk the walk. Communicate your brand image by finding opportunities to showcase the values and interests that matter most to you. Leverage your social media platforms, bringing them together to tell a cohesive story. This is an opportunity for you to showcase who you are as a company leader and to demonstrate to your audience that you’re more than just your business. You create meaningful memories and experiences that bring value to your target audience’s lives beyond the services or products your company offers.

Design Your Website

Creating a separate website for your personal brand isn’t just great for strengthening consumer trust, but it also helps you get found more easily on Google and other search engine results pages (SERPs). Designing a separate website from your company also gives you the opportunity to backlink to your personal site from your existing brand website, strengthening your search engine optimization efforts even more.

Beyond the technical benefits gained through creating a website for your personal brand, doing so also allows you to have complete creative control over your brand — not your company’s. This gives you the freedom to talk about things you might not discuss on your business’ website, but that paint a broader picture of who you are as a person and professional. Blogs, portfolio pieces, media appearances, social media channels, and more will all work together to tell your unique story.

Deliver Exceptional Experiences

Of course, the brand you develop is only as strong as the service experience you ultimately provide. Always strive for superiority over your competition and know that even the smallest details can make an everlasting impression. Especially if you’re selling high-end goods and services, consumers demand more from their overall experience. That includes seeing flawless execution of your personal marketing efforts, so be sure all of the content created for your personal brand is top-notch.

If you’re looking for a personal branding expert to help you better resonate with your target consumers, Megan Miller Marketing is the team you need. Allow our personal marketing professionals to help create the brand character you need to succeed by connecting with our team today!